National Football League News and Rumors

With veteran players changing teams, some will find that the number they have been wearing for years isn’t available. That’s the case in New England, where newcomer Adrian Wilson’s familiar No. 24 belongs to Kyle Arrington. Often in these situations

After briefly testing the free agent market, defensive tackle Dwan Edwards is headed back to the Carolina Panthers. Edwards took a free agent visit to the Miami Dolphins on Friday but instead elected to re-sign with the Panthers according to Joe Person …

For a change, the Butler didn’t do it. Specifically, free-agent linebacker Victor Butler didn’t sign a contract with the Saints. According to Larry Holder of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Butler concluded his visit to Louisiana without becoming a me

Chris Johnson’s instincts may be right

The decision of Titans running back Chris Johnson to question the decision to sign former Jets running back Shonn Greene seems, on the surface, confusing. But Johnson’s instincts may be on the money. And money is the key word. With the Titans signing Gr

Defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd missed Florida’s March 12 Pro Day workout, due to a tweaking of his ankle suffered at the Scouting Combine. Floyd took to the field on Friday, with 14 teams showing up to see what he can do. According to NFL.com, the thron

For the first time in his 13-year NFL career, Shane Lechler will not be a member of the Oakland Raiders next season. According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, Lechler has agreed to terms on a new deal with the Houston Texans. Per Adam Schefter…

The Bengals intended to spend their cap money on their own players. So far, they have re-signed eight of them. The eighth is offensive lineman Dennis Roland, who has appeared in 67 straight games. He has started at tackle, and he lines up from time to t…

Schwartz says Lions will use Bush the way the Saints used him

When Lions coach Jim Schwartz joined PFT Live this week, he noted that the Lions’ passing game will open things up for new running back Reggie Bush in a way that playing in another offense might not. “His talent doesn’t stand alone. The combination

Fred Davis: If I stay, I could do a lot of damage to defenses

The Browns are the only team other than the Redskins that has been linked to tight end Fred Davis since the start of free agency, but Cleveland signed a different Davis (Kellen) on Friday. That may take them out of the running for Fred Davis, which may …

All the reports that the New York Jets are shopping cornerback Darrelle Revis, with Tampa Bay as a strong contender, were refuted by coach Rex Ryan on Friday when he was asked about the future of arguably the team's best player.

PFT on NBC Sports Network stays up late on Friday night

If you normally watch Pro Football Talk on NBC Sports Network at 5 p.m. ET on weeknights, you’ve got a free hour on Friday evening. We’d suggest you fill it by watching college hockey on the network instead - it’s not like there’s any other spor

The Atlanta Falcons are making a strong push to sign New York Giants free agent defensive end Osi Umenyiora and are trying to wrap up a deal before the end of the weekend, a league source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter on Friday.

We’ve heard plenty about interest from the Broncos, Ravens and Steelers in signing defensive end Elvis Dumervil since the Broncos put Dumervil on the market after the fax machine’s most high-profile moment in at least a decade. Mike Klis of the Denver

San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh is one of the most maniacally well-prepared people in the NFL, and he's been that way for a long time. It's one of the things that allowed him to play quarterback in the pros for 14 seasons with the Chicago Be…

Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson didn’t have to pay any price for sleeping through his first practice of training camp, but he might not be as lucky after getting arrested on Friday morning. Johnson was arrested in Missoula, Montana early on Friday morn

NFLPA’s plan for performance-based pay crosses a line

Several weeks ago, we began to catch wind of a plan to delay the payment of so-called performance-based pay to NFL players. As it was initially explained, the move arises from efforts to pump up the salary cap. Now, it’s being sold as a way to protect p

Mike Brown defends spending habits on free agents

The Bengals have signed a grand total of one unrestricted free agent, a guy who will compete to be a backup quarterback. And while there are more deals to do, Bengals owner Mike Brown said bringing in a bunch of players from outside the organization isn…

Safety Ed Reed has joined the Texans. And the Ravens officially have said farewell to the eight-time All Pro. “Our hope is that the Hall of Fame players we drafted could play their entire careers with us, but we understand why Ed is moving on to the Tex

Burke: 2013 NFL Draft Big Board 4.0

There will be some adjustments to the Big Boards as we move closer to the 2013 NFL Draft (and there are some in this version), but the days of major movement are more or less gone, barring an arrest or injury to this year's prospects.

PFT Live: Bears talk with John Mullin, PFT Planet calls and tweets

The end of Brian Urlacher’s run with the Bears will be one of the topics up for discussion on Friday’s edition on PFT Live. John Mullin of CSN Chicago will join Mike Florio to talk about the Bears’ decision to draw a hard line on what they were will

Chudzinski admits to consumption of dog biscuits during his days as Browns fan

The great stories spawned by the NFL now include a guy who grew up as a rabid Browns fan coaching the team. Rob Chudzinski, a Toledo native, returns to Ohio to take the reins of Cleveland’s team. As a boy, his passion included putting the TV at the wind

Only days short of his 58th birthday, Hall of Fame running back Earl Campbell has become a real-life billboard for the wear and tear of a lifetime of football. Of any former players, then, Campbell should appreciate efforts to make the game safer. He do…

Mark Duper, the best non-Mark-Clayton receiver of the Dan Marino era, was charged yesterday with a felony count of child abuse. He is accused of twice knocking out his 17-year-old son, in a drawn-out brawl that sounds like Roddy Piper's big fight in The…

Report: Chargers want to keep Vaughn Martin

Vaughn Martin has made 27 starts on the defensive line over the last two years and a report on Friday indicates they’d like to see him make a few more in the future. Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com reports that the Chargers hope to retain Martin, who

Considering the fact Giants quarterback Eli Manning has started 146 straight regular season and postseason games, it almost doesn’t matter who the Giants backup quarterback is. (Knocks on wood, so Tom Coughlin doesn’t have to.) But the decision to bri

Reggie McKenzie on Jarvis Jones: You can’t change what you see on tape

For years under Al Davis, the Raiders had a reputation for drafting players who ran very fast even if their on-field results were less impressive. Davis has passed away, leaving a new group in charge of making personnel decisions and they’re using diffe

Maurice Clarett wants to be a rugby Olympian

Maurice Clarett was a bust in the NFL, first failing in his attempt to sue the league for early entry into the draft, then failing in his attempt to make the Broncos’ roster a year later. But he’s hoping things work out differently in a new sport. The

It’s not quite the “jersey” scene from Rudy, but there’s a two-man line of Giants who are willing to reduce their cap numbers to help keep receiver Victor Cruz around. The parade began with quarterback Eli Manning, who said Wednesday that he’s w

OL Zebrie Sanders is working to make the most of his second chance with the Bills. Dolphins coach Joe Philbin has high hopes for S Kelcie McCray. S Adrian Wilson said it wasn’t a “hard sell” to sign with the Patriots. It’s been a year since the Je

Adrian Wilson wasn’t sure what he was looking for after being released by the Cardinals, but it’s obvious who he was hoping to hear from. Wilson said when Patriots coach Bill Belichick called, his decision became an easy one. “Whenever Coach Belichi

Criticism of Gabbert “pisses off” Jones-Drew

Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew has taken a break from his job to focus on his education. But he doesn’t like what he’s been learning about the things folks have anonymously said about his quarterback, Blaine Gabbert. “That pisses me off,”

Yes, we’ve found another running back who has weighed in on the NFL’s new rule banning runners delivering hits with the tops of their helmets. And no, we haven’t found a running back who likes the rule yet. The latest to weigh in is David Wilson of

Shaun Phillips is quietly generating interest

The group of free-agent pass rushers on the wrong side of 30 contains a veteran whose name hasn’t been mentioned much in free agency, but who quietly is generating interest. Shaun Phillips, a nine-year veteran of the Chargers, became available last week